Some cricket innings win matches, some make records and some change the dynamics of the game altogether. Kapil Dev’s 175* against Zimbabwe in the league stages of the 1983 World Cup after India was reduced to 17/5 is one such inning that went on to change the face of Indian Cricket and will forever be […]

Some cricket innings win matches, some make records and some change the dynamics of the game altogether. Kapil Dev’s 175* against Zimbabwe in the league stages of the 1983 World Cup after India was reduced to 17/5 is one such inning that went on to change the face of Indian Cricket and will forever be remembered.

Let’s have a look at this memorable inning and its long-lasting impact on Indian Cricket.

The 1983 World Cup

It was the summer of 1983 when Kapil Dev and his men left for England to play the third edition of the Cricket World Cup. Cricket was not the country’s favorite sport till then and India was one of the minnows in the tournament. India had only one victory in the previous two editions of the World Cup; against a very weak East African side in 1975. The 1979 edition had seen the Indians losing each of their games by a huge margin. In a World Cup with the fiery pace battery and ruthless batsmen of West Indies and Australia, the Indian players themselves did not believe that they could lay their hands on the trophy

The 24-year old Kapil Dev was leading the Indian contingent in this World Cup who had been handed the captain-ship only four months earlier after India’s disappointing loss to Pakistan under Sunil Gavaskar. India lost all their practice games and it seemed like another disappointing tournament for Kapil Dev and his men.

However, India got the much-needed kick in the campaign when they brought down the erstwhile champions West Indies in their first match of the tournament. This was followed by a victory against Zimbabwe. However, celebrations were short-lived and the two consecutive victories were followed by two successive defeats against Australia and West Indies. India’s next encounter against Zimbabwe was a must-win to keep their hopes alive in the tournament.

The Crucial Match & A Disastrous Start

On June 18, 1983, India took on Zimbabwe in this crucial match of the World Cup where Kapil Dev won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the decision was regretted within the first few overs of the Indian innings as both the openers – Gavaskar and K Srikkanth departed for a duck. India was soon reduced to 9/4 when Kapil Dev walked out to bat at No.6. The fifth wicket soon fell with Kapil Dev on the other end as the scoreboard read 17/5. India was on the verge of another disastrous World Cup defeat but the Indian Captain had other plans.

Kapil Dev’s Innings

Kapil Dev made a cautious start to his innings as wickets kept on falling on the other end. Roger Binny provided some support before falling for 22 while Ravi Shastri was dismissed for 1. At 78-7, Indians were still staring at a defeat and victory was nowhere in sight.

At this stage, Kapil Dev stitched a 62-run partnership with tail-ender Madan Lal. Madan Lal fell for 17 and the scoreboard read 140-8. India had saved themselves from an utterly embarrassing batting collapse but a victory was still far-fetched. However, Kapil Dev had started hitting his shots and was playing his natural game.

Kapil Dev and wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani then entered into a record-breaking unbeaten ninth-wicket stand. After reaching his century in the 49th over, Kapil Dev unleashed himself scoring 75 runs in the next 11 overs. It is to be noted that ODIs were a 60-over affair till then. The duo added 126 runs where Kirmani scored only 24. Kapil Dev finished with a blistering unbeaten knock of 175 in just 138 balls that included 16 fours and 6 hits over the fence. India finished with 266 /8.

The 1983 World Cup Victory

The combined bowling effort by Indians ensured a swift victory by 31 runs. India then defeated Australia by 118 runs in their last league match to enter into the knockout stage of the World Cup.

The Indian team then went on to defeat England in the knockout stages and then beat West Indies despite a paltry total of 183 to defend to clinch their first Cricket World Cup.

The team who had come in the tournament with only one World Cup match victory in the previous two editions achieved what no one could have believed to be possible. The world stood up and took notice of Indian cricketers’ prowess as they brought legendary teams to ground.

The Impact Of Kapil Dev’s 175

Kapil Dev’s 175* was not just important in the context of the 1983 World Cup. While the innings prevented India from a certain World Cup exit, the players have time and again told that it also brought a new energy and self-belief in the team that ultimately resulted in the World Cup victory.

The 1983 World Cup had a great role to play in popularizing the sport in India. Many, including the great Tendulkar, took Cricket seriously only after this emphatic win. India, a team primarily looking to play for draws in test matches against the mighty West Indies and Aussies now looked to dominate the sport. The shorter format of the game became immensely popular and exciting. The 1985 Benson & Hedges Cup that India claimed followed after the World Cup victory was another feather in the Indian team’s cap.

Trivia

Several records were made and broken during Kapil Dev’s knock of 175*. Most of them have been broken now but these records stayed in the books for a long time before they faded away.

Here are a few interesting facts about this innings.

Ironically, there is no video footage of these legendary innings because BBC was on strike on the day of this match.

The partnership record of 126* between Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani for the ninth wicket stood unbroken for 27 years before Malinga and Matthews broke it against Australia in 2010. It is still the highest ninth-wicket partnership for India in ODIs.

Kapil Dev’s 175* was also the highest score in ODIs by any Indian batsman for 16 years before Sourav Ganguly scored 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup. It was also the highest ODI score at that time before being eclipsed by Vivian Richards 189* against England in 1984.

175* by Kapil Dev was the highest score by any batsman in World Cup matches until Vivian Richards eclipsed it against Sri Lanka in the 1987 World Cup.

Kapil Dev still holds the record for the highest ODI score when batting at No. 6 and lower.

Ever since the advent of the limited overs format in Cricket in the early 1970s, the age-old game with white uniforms, a red ball and 5-days of play evolved into something more exciting, energetic and action-packed. There are countless ODIs already played on the international level but there’s one match that stands out in the […]

Ever since the advent of the limited overs format in Cricket in the early 1970s, the age-old game with white uniforms, a red ball and 5-days of play evolved into something more exciting, energetic and action-packed. There are countless ODIs already played on the international level but there’s one match that stands out in the plethora of limited overs format – The 1999 Cricket World Cup Semi-Final.

Australia took on South Africa for a berth in the 1999 Cricket World Cup finals on the 17th of June, 1999. Looking back at this epic clash now, it was a match between two of the best teams in the history of ODI cricket with several legends of the game featuring in it.

Let’s have a look at this encounter and what made it probably the best ever one-day game.

The Background

The World Cup Of Legends

The 1999 World Cup organised by the ICC was held in England with 12 participating teams divided into two groups of six teams teach. Some of the biggest names and legends of the game today were playing this World Cup. It was a tournament where players like Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Gilchrist, Warne, Mc Grath, Jayasuriya, Muralitharan, Aravinda De Silva, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Brian Lara had battled it out for their respective teams.

Group Stages of the World Cup

Three teams from each group were to qualify for the Super Six stage. The Group A of the tournament had South Africa, India, Zimbabwe, England, Sri Lanka and Kenya. The Group B comprised Pakistan, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Scotland. The Group stages had seen a few spirited performances for Indians including Sachin’s 140* against Kenya after attending his father’s funeral and Sourav Ganguly’s 183 against Sri Lanka.

Both Pakistan and South Africa had emerged as the favorites in the tournament as Group-toppers and both teams losing just a single game in the group stages. India and Australia had managed to seal a spot in the Super Six stage despite two losses each owing to superior run rates. The two other teams to qualify for Super Six were Zimbabwe and New Zealand. The 1996 World Cup champions, Sri Lanka was eliminated in the group stage itself.

Super Six

The Super Six stage saw some of the memorable moments in Cricket history. India beat Pakistan in the Super Six while the Kargil war was being fought on the borders. It was one of the most heated encounters in the history of Cricket. Pakistan, however, qualified to the semis despite losses to India and South Africa in the Super Six stage as they 4 Points Carried Forward from the Group stage. Saqlain Mushtaq had claimed a hat-trick against Zimbabwe – the second in World Cup history.

South Africa had beaten Pakistan and New Zealand convincingly in the Super Six stage to qualify for the semi-finals and looked to sweep the tournament. Despite a victory against Pakistan, India disappointingly finished last in the points table while New Zealand managed to sneak into the semis.

Australia had to beat South Africa in the final Super Six game to qualify for the semi-final. In the event of a South African victory, Australia would have made way for Zimbabwe.

The Aus Vs SA Super Six Encounter & The Dropped Catch

South Africa scored a competitive 271/7 with Herschelle Gibbs scoring a century. Australians were struggling in the chase at one time at 48-3 when Ponting and Steve Waugh came to the rescue. Captain Steve Waugh was dropped at 57 by Gibbs at short mid-wicket as Gibbs tried to throw the ball up into the air in celebration as it slipped through his fingers. Waugh reportedly said to Gibbs “You’ve just dropped the World Cup!” However, Waugh later denied this and told that he said Gibbs, “Look, do you realise you’ve just cost your team the game.”

Steve Waugh went on to score 120 as Australia beat South Africa by 5 wickets with two balls to spare.

Australia qualified the semis and had to face South Africa in the second semi-final of the 1999 World Cup. After winning all their Super Six encounters, Australia was placed second in the Super Six points table – above South Africa and below Pakistan

Semi-Final 2: Australia vs South Africa

Pakistan had already sealed a berth in the finals beating New Zealand in the first semi-final. The second-final was all set to be a no-mercy game where the Proteas and Kangaroos were playing for a much-needed berth in the finals.

South Africa won the toss and elected to field first.

Australian Innings

Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock tore in the Australian batting attack as they were reduced for 68-4. Steve Waugh came to the rescue again scoring 56 before Pollock and Donald came into the action. While wickets kept falling on the other end, Michael Bevan stayed till the very last over scoring a solid 65. As many as four batsmen were out for a duck including Mark Waugh.

Shaun Pollock picked up 5 wickets and Donald sent 4 Australian batsmen to the pavilion. South Africa had restricted Australia at 213 in this crucial encounter.

South African Innings

The Proteas were reduced to 61-4 in reply with Warne sending three batsmen to the pavilion. Jonty Rhodes scored 43 off 55 balls before being dismissed while Kallis was batting at 53 and Pollock was at the other end. At 175-5 in 44.4 overs, South Africa had to score 49 off 32 balls for a victory. Kallis was dismissed in this stage and Lance Klusener came to the crease. Lance Klusener started hitting boundaries on one end while wickets started to fall on the other.

South Africa entered the final over at 205/9 with Klusener at the crease, Allan Donald at the other end and 9 runs needed for victory.

The Final Over

The bowler was Damien Fleming who had also bowled the last over against West Indies in the 1996 World Cup Semi-final. Needing 6 runs off the last 5 balls, Fleming had bowled Courtney Walsh to seal Australia’s place in the finals.

This time it was against Klusener who had the reputation of hitting the best bowlers out of the ground.

Ball 1: Klusener drove a full delivery for a 4.

Ball 2: Another full delivery, Another 4.

Scores level

South Africa needed one run for a place in the finals. If the match was tied, Australia would enter the finals as it had finished above South Africa in the Super Six stage with the last victory against them.

Ball 3: Klusener hit a shot to Darren Lehman at mid-on. Allan Donald had backed up a long way down the crease at non-strikers end but Lehman’s throw at the stumps missed.

Calamity avoided.

Commentator Mike Proctor remarked, “that could be the difference between a World Cup final berth or nothing.”

Ball 4: A similar delivery, hit to Mark Waugh at mid-off. This time Klusener went for the run, however, Allan Donald was watching the ball instead of heeding to his partner. Donald reacted late and eventually started running but by this time Waugh had thrown the ball to Fleming who rolled it along the pitch to Gilchrist, and the stumps were hit.

Allan Donald was out, the match tied and South Africa out of the World Cup.

Commentator Bill Lawry remarked, “There it is, this will be out surely – oh it’s out, it’s gonna be run out…oh, that is South Africa out – Donald did not run, I cannot believe it. Australia goes into the World Cup Final – ridiculous running with two balls to go. Donald did not go, Klusener came – what a disappointing end for South Africa. What a match for our viewers right around the world.”

Aftermath & Reactions

Australia & The World Cup

Australia went to defeat Pakistan in the finals by 8 wickets to win the 1999 ICC World Cup. They won all their games in the 2003 and 2007 World Cup and a World Cup defeat only came to them after 34 matches in the 2011 World Cup group stages against Pakistan.

The 1999 World Cup also marked the domination of the Aussies in ODIs which continued for over a decade with them winning three consecutive World Cups.

South Africa & The Chokers Tag

South Africa, on the other hand, hand continued their reputation for choking in World Cups. In 1992, they lost to England in the semis when the DLW method after rains forced them to score 22 runs off the final ball. In 1996, South Africa won all their group matches but was knocked out by West Indies in the quarter finals. In 2003, a misinformation from the dressing room caused their exit from the group stages of the World Cup that was being played on their own home soil. In 2007, they were out for a paltry 149 in the semi-finals against arch-rivals Australia. More recently, the 2015 edition saw South Africa crash out in the semi-finals again in a close contest where GD Elliott hit a six in the penultimate ball off the innings as New Zealand edged past the Proteas.

People & Media

The Australian Captain Steve Waugh called this match as “the best game of cricket I’ve played.”

South African coach Bob Woolmer resigned after this match. He later revealed that Donald and his team-mates were in tears after the result.

British Daily, The Times rated South Africa’s choke in the semi-final as the second-biggest sporting choke of all time in 2010.

Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, a cricket reference remarked: “This was not merely the match of the tournament: it must have been the best one-day international of the 1,483 so far played. The essence of the one-day game is a close finish, and this was by far the most significant to finish in the closest way of all – with both teams all out for the same score. But it was a compressed epic all the way through, and it ended in a savage twist.”

In 2014, Klusener stated in an interview that it was he who decided to run the risky single despite the fact that there was no run. Allan Donald Donald was not to be blamed for what happened.

Exactly 25 years ago, legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne delivered the ‘Ball Of The Century’. Cricket has witnessed a number of exceptional and memorable bowling performances over the years, however, this delivery has registered itself as the probably the best the game has ever seen. Twenty Five years after this magical delivery that later turned […]

Exactly 25 years ago, legendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne delivered the ‘Ball Of The Century’. Cricket has witnessed a number of exceptional and memorable bowling performances over the years, however, this delivery has registered itself as the probably the best the game has ever seen.

Twenty Five years after this magical delivery that later turned out to be a milestone in cricketing history, we look at the Ball Of The Century and what makes it so special.

The Background

Venue: Old Trafford, ManchesterMatch: Day 2, First Test – 1993 Ashes series

After being dismissed for just 289 despite Mark Taylor’s century, England was going strong at 80/1 when Captain Allan Border turned to Warne.

A young Warne was about to bowl his first delivery of his first test series on English soil to Mike Gatting, who was considered by many as one of the best players of spin in International Cricket.

A 23-year-old Warne had just played 11 Test matches until then but had shown some promise particularly in his last test claiming 7 wickets for 52 runs against West Indies.

The Delivery

After a slow run-up, Warne delivered this leg-break which drifted way outside the leg stump due to Magnus effect.

Magnus effect is a scientific phenomena where spinning objects drag air faster around one side, creating a difference in pressure that moves it in the direction of the lower-pressure side. You can experience the Magnus effect in this video

Gatting did nothing wrong to play this delivery trying that the ball hits the pad or the bat.

This was a standard defence tactic against leg spinner for deliveries pitching outside leg as the batsman cannot be given out LBW, and if the ball spins a bit more, it would hit the bat and land safely.

Gatting stared at the pitch for several seconds in disbelief before walking towards the pavilion. Nobody had witnessed the cricket ball turning so much ever before.

Here’s the video of this magical delivery:

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Aftermath

Gatting’s wicket triggered a batting collapse with England scoring just 210 runs. Warne scalped 4 victims each in both the innings of the match.

It is told that Warne’s magical delivery and his other scalps in the match set the tone of the series where England was thrashed 4-1.

Australia went to dominate the World cricket crushing every formidable opposition in the process for the next two decades and Warne retired in Tests 13 years later as one of the most prolific bowlers to have ever taken the field with 704 wickets.

After two decades of domination by the fast bowlers of West Indies and Australia, leg spin was considered as a dying art in the demanding modern day game.

This delivery made the cricketing fraternity realize the power of leg spin leading to resurgence of popularity in leg spin.

Reactions

Shane Warne described this ball as a fluke in a recent video tweeted by the ICC handle recently.

Robin Marlar an English cricketer in the Sunday Times probably was the first person to describe this delivery as the ‘Ball Of the Century’.

The 1993 Ashes did wonders for Australia, labeling it as as a force to be reckoned with. It not only boosted Shane Warne’s career but also revolutionised spin bowling. His epic throw was aptly named the ball of the century and will be talked about for many more centuries to come.